The Human Seasons

Introduction:
The human seasons is a poem written by John Keats in March 1818 and was
enclosed in a letter to Benjamin Bailey on the 13th of March. This poem that Keats wrote is
about the different emotions of a man that Keats has linked with the four seasons, spring,
summer, autumn and finally winter. Keats shows us readers how each season can be compared
to the emotions that every human has by giving a brief description of each season and how it
pertains to a certain emotion that humans feel. For instance, in this poem spring conveys a very
easy and outgoing emotion while summer describes a youthful personality. Autumn portrays a
relaxed personality while winter is a distasteful one. John Keats has therefore, looked beyond
the literal nature of seasons and has provided us with a profound insight into human nature.
The Human Season is an Elizabethan sonnet written in iambic pentameter with the rhyme
scheme ABAB CDED FGF GHH. However, line five of this poem does not rhyme with any other
which is uncommon but it is something that Keats has been known to do throughout his
writing.

Analysis:
The poem is about the four seasons which are like the four stages of the human
life which includes birth, youth, maturity, and the eventually death which completes the life
cycle. Keats has basically described the life journey very shortly in his words. Beginning with
spring which is the first season, it becomes clear that it is compared to the first stage of human
life which is birth. It is that time of the year when trees and flowers bloom which symbolizes the
time when humans are born and when they grow. It is our childhood which shows that it is the
season of optimism and hope. The phrase “He has his lusty spring, when fancy clear takes in all
beauty with an easy span” shows that spring has been described as short and happy just like
humans are in their childhood days.
Then comes summer which is the second season and compared to the second stage of human life
that is youth. Summer is a season of harvest where plants are grown and the vegetation blooms.
It is said to be pleasant with the sounds of all types of birds in the air and the smell of fresh
summer rain. All of this can be linked to the youth life of humans with the childhood days
ending and the time for children to grow up has come. This is known as the so called maturity
age which is the peak and the glorious age of life. During this time period, everyone has to start
considering their future to plan to settle with the best of everything. In the season of summer,
beauty and attraction symbolizes the physical and changing color of the youth.
After summer comes the season of autumn symbolizing the third age of human life that is the
middle age. Autumn is the season where dryness starts and the leaves start to fall off from the
trees and the plants. It is the season where the brightness of summer begins to fade away. This
represents the time when humans get old and wise. Skin starts to wrinkle up just like leaves start
to wrinkle up as autumn starts. The author states that this is the time when “when his wings, he
furleth close; contented so to look on mists in idleness" This phrase shows that this is a time for
meditation and the time when humans can sit back and relax with the surroundings with a
relaxed mood. Instead of being concerned about our situation, we tend to be more concerned
about the coming generation which goes to show how a man is approaching towards old age.
The next and the final season winter describes the final stage of a human life, completing the life
cycle. Winters are the time of season where the days are short are short and the nights are longer.
Here, the dryness reaches its extreme which shows that the old age also keeps on increasing with
health becoming a serious issue and physical strength falling. At this stage, people reach that
point where they already prepare themselves for death. Hence, like winter marks the ending of
the final season, death also marks the ending of the human beings putting them to eternal rest.

Overall view and form:

The Human Seasons is a poem based on the human life cycle. The first two
verses explain the contents and the theme of the poem that is the comparisons of the four
seasons with the four stages of human life cycle. The meaning of the poem is very clearly
presented throughout as we all know that life is brief and temporary and that with every
growing stage in our life, we experience different emotions and feelings.
Each stanza in this poem is related to each season, spring, summer, autumn, and then finally
winter. In the first quatrain, Keats has introduced the topic. He doesn’t use any comparative
particles but the meanings are evident. He introduces spring as a happy and brief period and
does not mention any problems during this time as everything is “beautiful and lusty”
In the second quatrain, Keats refers to summer and the effect it has on our feelings. He says
that we “ruminate thoughts” which shows that we are at that certain age where we can look
back at our past mistakes and lessons which shows that this is our maturity age.
Autumn now covers the third stanza.  In this stage, human beings are mature and are getting
older with time which can be seen in their acts too. The words used are calm and quiet and the
phrases such as “mist in idleness” can show that too. Keats here is saying that this is our old age
which we have to accept and let time pass by.
Winter is mentioned in the last two verses. Death only happens once and it is something that
nobody can run away from. Keats uses the phrase “pale misfeature” which can have two
interpretations. One means the description of the dead body while the other could mean how a
man grows old. As winter ends, it symbolizes that the human cycle ends too since it is the last
stage.
By reading this poem and analyzing it, we cannot say that Keats was an old person since he died
when he was 25 only. However, it could mean that these years for him were intense and hard.
The poem overall, is very objective without the use of any humor or any ironic language. The
tone of the poem is serious and calm since throughout the poem, the poet has a straight
forward and a serious attitude. Keats has created a different attitude and mood for every
stanza. For instance, in the first stanza while talking about spring, he creates a joyful and a
hopeful mood by using words like beauty and lust. In the second stanza while talking about
summer, he creates more of a bright and confident as well as nostalgic mood by using words
like ruminate and dreaming high. When talking about autumn, a lonely and hopeless mood is
created with words like quiet coves or closed wings. Finally, in the last stanza the poet creates a
gloomy and a cold mood by using words like mortal nature. Apart from that, the poem is based
on facts on the events that usually occur as it is a simple comparison between nature and
human life cycle. There is a lot of use of imagery which is also very clear for instance, spring
describes childhood, summer maturity, autumn old age and winter death.